How to Say 'Enjoy Your Meal' and 'Could You Pass the Salt?' in Japanese
Learn beginner Japanese table phrases: itadakimasu, gochisōsama deshita, and polite requests like shio o totte moraemasu ka. Includes a restaurant dialogue and common mistakes.
By LiamCulture & nuance · Yapr Learn
At a Japanese table, a few set phrases do a lot of work. Before eating, people usually say something; after eating, they say something else; and when you need the salt, you make a request rather than grabbing it. This lesson teaches those exact beginner phrases. You will learn how to start and finish a meal politely, how to ask someone to pass something, and how to comment on the food. All examples use natural Japanese script with Hepburn romanization. Long vowels are written with macrons (ō, ū), and は as a topic particle is written wa.
By the end, you can…
- say a polite phrase before and after eating.
- ask someone to pass the salt or soy sauce.
- thank someone for a meal and comment that it is delicious.
- make a polite request at a restaurant, such as asking for water.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
いただきます。
Thank you for the meal (said before eating; literally 'I humbly receive').
i-ta-da-ki-ma-su
Said before you start eating, often with your hands together. It expresses gratitude to everyone involved in the meal. In casual settings it can be shortened, but beginners should use the full form.
ごちそうさまでした。
Thank you for the meal (said after eating; literally 'It was a feast').
go-chi-sō-sa-ma-de-shi-ta
Said when you finish eating, especially when someone else cooked or paid. The shorter ごちそうさま (gochisōsama) is fine with friends and family.
おいしいです。
It is delicious.
oishii desu
A safe, polite compliment during the meal. The です (desu) makes it polite. With close friends you can drop it and say おいしい (oishii).
塩を取ってもらえますか。
Could you pass me the salt?
shio o totte moraemasu ka
A polite request. を (o) marks salt as the object. You can replace 塩 (shio, salt) with 醤油 (shōyu, soy sauce) or 胡椒 (koshō, pepper).
お水をください。
Water, please.
o-mizu o kudasai
A standard polite request at a restaurant. ください (kudasai) follows the object plus を (o). You can also say お水をもらえますか (o-mizu o moraemasu ka) to sound slightly softer.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
For polite requests, use object + を + 取ってもらえますか (o + totte moraemasu ka). Example: 塩を取ってもらえますか (shio o totte moraemasu ka) means 'Could you pass me the salt?' Replace 塩 with 醤油 (shōyu, soy sauce) or 胡椒 (koshō, pepper). For a simple 'please give me X', use Xをください (X o kudasai), as in お水をください (o-mizu o kudasai). Adding お (o) to 水 makes it more polite and natural at the table.
When to use it
Say いただきます (itadakimasu) right before your first bite, and ごちそうさまでした (gochisōsama deshita) when you finish. Use おいしいです (oishii desu) during the meal to compliment the food. When you need something, ask rather than reach across the table: 塩を取ってもらえますか (shio o totte moraemasu ka). At a restaurant, お水をください (o-mizu o kudasai) is a clear, polite way to ask for water. These phrases work in homes and restaurants; the register is polite but not stiff.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
いただきます。
Thank you for the meal. (before eating)i-ta-da-ki-ma-suおいしいですか。
Is it delicious?oishii desu kaはい、とてもおいしいです。塩を取ってもらえますか。
Yes, it is very delicious. Could you pass me the salt?hai, totemo oishii desu. shio o totte moraemasu kaはい、どうぞ。
Yes, here you are.hai, dōzoA little context goes a long way
いただきます and ごちそうさまでした are not prayers; they express thanks and mark the start and end of a meal. At a restaurant, staff may say ごちそうさまでした as you leave, but customers usually say it to the person who cooked or paid. Saying おいしいです out loud is a normal, welcome compliment, not a demand for more food.
One thing to watch for
Using ください (kudasai) alone to mean 'Could you pass the salt?'
Try this instead: ください needs an object before it. Say 塩をください (shio o kudasai) for 'Salt, please,' or the softer request 塩を取ってもらえますか (shio o totte moraemasu ka) for 'Could you pass me the salt?' Do not say just ください to a person; it sounds incomplete.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1You are about to start eating with your host family. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
いただきます。 (itadakimasu)
This is the standard phrase before eating. ごちそうさまでした is for after the meal, so it would be wrong here.
2You want the soy sauce, which is across the table. Make a polite request.
Show a sample answer
醤油を取ってもらえますか。 (shōyu o totte moraemasu ka)
This uses object + を + 取ってもらえますか. 醤油をください (shōyu o kudasai) is also polite, but it sounds more like a direct 'soy sauce, please.'
3You finished a meal that your friend cooked. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
ごちそうさまでした。 (gochisōsama deshita)
This thanks the cook after eating. いただきます would be used before eating, so it does not fit here.
Use いただきます before eating, ごちそうさまでした after, おいしいです to compliment, and 塩を取ってもらえますか or お水をください for polite requests at the table.
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